Black Friday is a pretty big deal in the U.S., but for a lot of people there’s absolutely nothing appealing about standing in potentially long lines in cold weather for a good deal – especially because the best “Black Friday” deals end up happening on Thanksgiving anyway. Fortunately, the Internet has given shoppers an alternative, and now we can hunt for good deals from the comfort of our own homes on what’s known as “Cyber Monday”. There are potential snags one can hit along the way such as server overload and retailers quickly running out of stock, but I find that Cyber Monday deals are much easier to catch than Black Friday deals.
With Cyber Monday currently underway, I’ve been keeping an eye on smartphone deals. Unsurprisingly there are a ton out there, but there are 5 deals that have stood out to me from the rest:
The Nextbit Robin is a first generation smartphone from start-up, Nextbit. Released earlier this year, the phone has a quirky yet fashionable design and comes in two colors: Mint and Midnight. The Nextbit Robin’s key selling point is its dependence on cloud storage, of which the company provides 100GB of for free. Another interesting feature of the Robin is that the phone archives photos, apps, and other internal storage that hasn’t been used in a while. The device features good mid-range specs and also has 32GB of internal storage. The $149 deal from eBay will some extra cash, but the $169 Amazon deal is a steal as well, especially since the company is already working on a Nougat rollout.
Windows 10 Mobile might not be the most happening platform around, but for a lot of people, it still works well. The Lumia 650 is currently $100 off from its normal $199.99 price tag, which makes this a pretty sweet deal. It’s a mid-range smartphone and doesn’t feature Continuum or the Iris Scanner seen on the higher end Lumia 950 and 950 XL, but it’s definitely one of the more affordable options today if you’re in the market for a new smartphone and don’t want to break the bank. It’s also a good pick up if you’re just curious about Windows 10 Mobile.
I tried to steer clear of deals that required installment plans, but the Galaxy S7 deal over at Best Buy is pretty freakin’ good with the $400 Best Buy gift card if you have a reason to use it. This deal essentially makes the Galaxy S7 $272, which is an amazing price for one of these bad boys in new condition. However, as I mentioned, the downside is that you have to be eligible for and sign up for an installment plan in order to get it. Cricket Wireless is also offering the GS7 for half price.
Here’s an interesting deal that I’ve been trying to get more details on, but I figured it’s worth a mention anyway. Walmart is selling the Samsung Galaxy S6, one of its flagships from 2015, for $249. The deal is for Walmart’s pre-paid network Straight Talk, and it looks like it’s SIM locked, so I wouldn’t purchase it under the assumption that you could use it with anything other than Straight Talk. Still, if you’re already a Straight Talk customer or you’re in the market to switch, this is a great deal (and as a former Straight Talk customer, I think the plans are a good deal, too).
This is a fantastic deal if you’re on Verizon and can snag one from Best Buy for the $34.99 price, but if you’re not on Verizon you can still get one unlocked from B&H Photo for $99.99. It’s not a bad deal considering Amazon offers the G Play for the same $99.99 price, but includes offers and ads (which I don’t think is a bad deal either, but it’s obviously better if you can get it without the ads for the same price).
Readers, which smartphone deals have you been mulling over this weekend? Have you purchased a new smartphone on Black Friday or Cyber Monday? Let us know in the comments below!
